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The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond
| runtime = 101 minutes | country = United States | language = English French Italian German | budget = | gross = }} The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond is a 1960 film directed by Budd Boetticher. The picture marked the film debut of Dyan Cannon and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Costume Design for Howard Shoup. Plot In the 1920s, ambitious but smalltime thief Jack Diamond and his sickly brother Eddie Diamond move to New York City. Jack meets dance instructor Alice Shiffer, lies to her to date her and to steal a necklace from a jewelry store. After being incarcerated for a time, he works with Alice at her dance school while on probation. He then gets hired as bodyguard of infamous Arnold Rothstein who gives him the nickname Legs. His plan is to supplant Rothstein with the intention of stealing his bootleg, drugs and gambling businesses. After Arnold is murdered, Legs Diamond sells protection. When he travels to Europe with Alice on a vacation, he sees in the newspaper that the New York underworld has changed with the National Prohibition Act.. Legs returns to America and confronts the syndicate, demanding a cut from their operations. He kicks Alice out of his life and turns to Monica, who betrays him. Hit men enter his hotel room and shoot him dead. In the final scene, as his corpse is being removed on a stretcher, Alice says he was loved by many but that he loved nobody. Cast * Ray Danton as Jack "Legs" Diamond * Karen Steele as Alice Scott * Elaine Stewart as Monica Drake * Jesse White as Leo "Butcher" Bremer * Warren Oates as Eddie Diamond * Dyan Cannon (credited as Diane Cannon) as Dixie * Robert Lowery as Arnold Rothstein * Richard Gardner as Mad Dog Coll * Gordon Jones as Sgt. Joe Cassidy * Frank de Kova as "The Chairman" Frank de Kova's role is only listed as "The Chairman" of the new crime syndicate. He was portraying Lucky Luciano, but as Luciano was still alive at the time, it was decided not to name him specifically. The lead role was first offered to Robert Evans. When he turned it down Warner Bros. Television contract star Ray Danton took the lead. Evans also had turned down the lead for The George Raft Story that Danton also played.P. 81 Evans, Robert The Kid Stays in the Picture Phoenix Books, Inc., 1 Jan 2006 Danton reprised his role as Legs Diamond in Portrait of a Mobster (1961). Reception From Howard Thompson of The New York Times: }} After he saw the film, guitarist Hank Marvin was inspired to give the name of the film to his The Rise and Fall of Flingel Bunt.p. 290 Read, Mike Major to Minor: The Rise and Fall of the Songwriter Sanctuary, 2000 In 2008, the American Film Institute nominated this film for its Top 10 Gangster Films list. Musical remake The film was remade as a musical entitled Legs Diamond which debuted on Broadway at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on December 26, 1988, and closed on February 19, 1989 after 64 performances and 72 previews. See also * List of American films of 1960 References External links * * Category:1960 films Category:1960s crime films Category:1960s biographical films Category:American films Category:American crime films Category:American biographical films Category:English-language films Category:Biographical films about mobsters Category:Biographical films about Depression-era gangsters Category:Films set in the 1920s Category:Films set in the 1930s Category:Films set in New York City Category:Warner Bros. films Category:Film scores by Leonard Rosenman Category:Films directed by Budd Boetticher Category:Cultural depictions of Legs Diamond Category:Cultural depictions of Arnold Rothstein Category:Cultural depictions of Mad Dog Coll